Dispatches from Denver: player quotes from the Denver offense

On his experience with Seattle Seahawks QB and former University of Wisconsin teammate Russell Wilson

“Back when he was with me at Wisconsin, he displayed great qualities of a quarterback and I’m sure he’s doing the same thing over there.”

On his memories of the Broncos’ Super Bowl wins

“Great. I can just tell you at my household it was a great time. I grew up a Broncos fan, so it was nice and it’s great to be back.”

On how old he was when they last won the Super Bowl

“Born in ’90, so I was eight or nine.”

On whether he remembers the Super Bowl wins

“Yeah, I do.”

On where he watched the games

“I watched at my house in O’Fallon, Missouri.”

On his favorite memory

“Which one was Terrell Davis’s spin move? There was one specific one—I can’t really put my finger on it. But I guess if I really had to choose, it’d have to be the helicopter [play by QB John Elway], just because it was such a great [run].”

On what players asked the veterans with Super Bowl experience

“They talked to us this morning and really, the overall message is that you have to stay focused because there are a lot of distractions coming our way, especially when we land in New York. There is going to be media all over the place, fans trying to grab you here and there. We just have to stay focused and remember why we’re there.”

On QB Peyton Manning’s Super Bowl experience

“For us, we are just focused on what we can control. But it definitely helps that he’s won it before because he understands what it took and he told us throughout that week of preparation what was being done in the locker room and out on the practice field, which carried on to the field.”

On ticket requests he’s received

“It actually hasn’t been that bad. Maybe eight or nine? That’s it. My parents take care of it all. They kind of tell family members that it’s really expensive.”

On the weather

“Whatever it is—100 degrees, 20 degrees—no matter what, you’re still going to have to go out there and play. If we call a lot of run plays, we running backs are going to make sure we execute them. If not, we have great receivers and a great quarterback to put the ball in the air.”

On RB Knowshon Moreno going home to New Jersey for the Super Bowl

“He says it’s fun for him to go back home. You can’t write that story. It’s pretty spectacular for him to say he’s going home to play the biggest game of his life.”

On if he keeps in touch with Wilson

“Once the season started no texting, none of that. But beforehand, yeah—just because of the great relationship he had in college. At times I would ask him—once he took off—I’d ask him how the NFL was and all that stuff. Right now, he’s the enemy.”

On how Wilson became a captain so quickly at Wisconsin

“As soon as he got there, he was walking around with notecards with the plays on them and stuff like that. And I was like, ‘OK, this guy is really serious.’ Based on his history, based on what we’d heard of him and based on the first couple practices we had, we were like, ‘OK, we need to follow this guy.’ But that was at Wisconsin. Like I said, I don’t know what he’s doing over there right now. I’m really excited that us Broncos are in the Super Bowl.”

On not being surprised Wilson has become a good NFL player

“No. I’m not surprised. He’s had that mindset his whole life. He has done some great things just like the rest of us. But, like I said, that’s really all I can say on it.”

WIDE RECEIVER ANDRE CALDWELL

On the advice he’s been given

“Just keep everything to the same routine. Don’t let the fact that it is the Super Bowl change anything; keep doing what you’ve been doing all year. Prepare like you’ve been preparing and don’t worry about all the other stuff because once the game starts its still football.”

On the Seahawks defense

“They’re a big group, they are really physical. They like to hit. They make a lot of plays and they have a lot of speed out there. I tip my hat—they’ve done a great job all year making plays. That’s why they are the No. 1 defense. But we’re ready for the challenge.”

On looking at the preseason game

“Yeah we’re definitely going to look at that and see how they game-planned for us in the preseason, but we’re also going to watch the previous playoff games they just played. We think we can go out there and make some plays.”

On the mindset right now

“We’re as loose as usual. We’re very excited to be in this game and have this opportunity. We know the magnitude of it, but it’s still football and we’re going to continue to do what we did all year—play loose, go out there and have fun and make plays.”

On Head Coach John Fox and QB Peyton Manning’s Super Bowl experiences and what they’ve shared

“They definitely gave us advice on how to handle yourself, what to expect and how to prepare for it. It was great to have Peyton and the coaches and other players on the team that have experienced it, so we know how to react to it.”

On having the extra week before heading to New York-New Jersey

“We’re mostly working on ourselves, getting that fine tuning down, getting our timing down and continuing to get better on offense. You also get to see some of the things that they did well throughout the season, what to expect and know they’re personal as well.”

On practicing in the cold today

“It definitely preps you for what to expect when you get to New York, being cold today. But I don’t think you really get used to this cold weather. I don’t like it much but it’s my job to go out there and play in this cold weather and make plays.”

TACKLE ORLANDO FRANKLIN

On ticket requests he’s received

“It’s been a little crazy. But at the same time, a lot of my family understands that we only get a certain amount of tickets and a lot of them actually prefer to stay at home.”

On the weather

“The game plan is the game plan. We are going to go out there and try to call the best plays in order to try to win the football game.”

On the weather benefitting him because he’s used to it

“The Denver Broncos, we’re definitely weatherproof. We live in a cold city. It snowed last night. We were outside for practice today. We definitely are used to a lot of different things being that we live here in Denver, Colorado.”

On the attention on Seattle’s defense

“They are a good defense. They definitely deserve all the credit they have been getting. They have done a lot of great things this year during the season. They are definitely a great defense.”